Many times during the second half of the Tigers game with Georgia Tech, the announcers mentioned the team playing with a sense of urgency. You could see the difference when the second half began. It was visible on both ends of the court. Clemson amped up the defense, and with that the offense seemed to follow.
The Tigers looked poised to win their 10th game in ACC play but Georgia Tech had other plans, ending the game on a 6-0 run to steal one in Littlejohn 65-62. Clemson had a chance to tie or take the lead with under 10 seconds left but Tevin Mack missed a three. After James Banks missed the second of two free throws Clemson called timeout with three seconds left. The Tigers inbounded the ball to Aamir Simms who passed it to Tevin Mack for a three point attempt at the buzzer that he missed.Â
Tevin Mack led the Tigers with 19 points while Aamir Simms, who had 2 points in the first half, ended up scoring 12 on the night. Clemson, as a team, shot 35.0% (21 of 60) from the field, 23.1% (6 of 26) from behind the three point line, and 77.8% (14 of 18) from the free throw line.
Clemson ends the regular season 15-15 overall and 9-11 in ACC play while Georgia Tech ended their season 17-14 overall and 11-9 in conference. This is the Tigers fourth losing record in ACC play in the last eight seasons. The Tigers will now get ready to head to Greensboro needing to win a win, maybe two, if they expect to make the NIT.Â